CVE-2026-72042
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipmi: Fix user refcount underflow in event delivery ipmi_alloc_recv_msg(user) takes the temporary user reference owned by the receive message, and ipmi_free_recv_msg() drops it again. If event delivery fails after allocating receive messages for earlier users, handle_read_event_rsp() rolls those messages back with ipmi_free_recv_msg(). That rollback path still drops user->refcount explicitly after freeing each message. The extra put can free a user that remains linked on intf->users, so later event delivery may dereference a freed user or trip refcount_t's addition-on-zero warning when ipmi_alloc_recv_msg() tries to acquire another reference. Remove the stale explicit put and the now-dead user assignment. Keep the list_del() and ipmi_free_recv_msg() calls; they are the required rollback operations.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.1.157,
6.6.113,
6.12.54,
6.17.4,
6.18
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.18.40,
7.1.5,
7.2-rc1
and their respective stable series.
References
3 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-72042?
CVE-2026-72042 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.1.157 onward and has been patched in 6.18.40, 7.1.5 and 7.2-rc1. CVE-2026-72042 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72042?
Yes. CVE-2026-72042 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.40, 7.1.5 and 7.2-rc1. If you are running Linux kernel 6.1.157 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-72042 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-72042 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.